Field of the Invention
The invention relates to rehabilitation boards and in particular, low friction rehabilitation boards having an integral band retaining feature.
Background
Rehabilitation boards and/or bands are used in a wide variety of applications, such as the rehabilitation and/or strengthening of upper and lower body limbs. The boards and bands may be used for physical therapy, injury prevention, and athletic training or conditioning. In some applications, the boards and bands are used to strengthen, and in other applications, to extend the range of motion of limbs.
Rehabilitation boards are often made of a rigid board and some have non-slip materials attached to the bottom surface to prevent the board from moving during use. Rehabilitation boards may be made of any suitable material such as wood or a polymer material, however many of these polymer materials have a higher coefficient of friction than desired. When the coefficient of friction of the rehabilitation board is too high, the patient or user may have to exert additional force just to overcome the frictional forces of the board. In addition, repetitive motion across a rehabilitation board having a high coefficient of friction may result in skin abrasion.
Rehabilitation bands are used to provide varying levels of resistance during exercises. A user may be instructed to place a limb through a band, or grasp a band and extend it a certain amount and return. The user may be instructed to repeat this motion for a certain number of repetitions. As the user or patient strengthens their muscles, the user may be instructed to use a higher resistance band. In some cases, the bands are provided in different colors, wherein each color band has a specific resistance response. The resistance of many of these color-coded bands are predetermined such that extension to a certain degree requires a predetermined force.
In most cases, the user may be instructed to extend a band a certain amount, however there is typically no indication of how far to extend the band. As a result, there is no way of determining or monitoring exactly how far a user extends the band. Furthermore, there is no way of determining the force the user is exerting to extend the band.
Resistance bands are sometimes attached to a fixed object by being looped around or tied to the fixed object, and a user typically inserts a limb into the loop or grasps the band. It is often inconvenient to find a proper fixed object for the attachment of the band. The fixed object may not be secure enough and present a dangerous situation. In addition, it may be difficult to position the rehabilitation board in close enough proximity to the fixed object, therein making it more difficult for the user to complete their exercises.
There exists a need for a rehabilitation board that has a means to attach a rehabilitation band, and a way to determine the specific amount of force a user is exerting during the rehabilitation exercises.